Ninewells Hospital's under-fire car park boss has shown a bit of heart and withdrawn a pensioner's parking charge notice. Gordon Brown, who works for private firm Vinci Park which runs the hospital's car parks, returned from honeymoon earlier this week to read the tale of woe from William McMichael. The 70-year-old from Arbroath had threatened to go to court rather than pay up after being hit with a parking notice while visiting his wife, who is battling cancer and had been admitted to the Princess Alexandra Cancer Centre at Ninewells. Mr McMichael had purchased a parking ticket but it fell off the windscreen and was lying on the passenger seat when the wardens checked his car. He was told the parking charge was imposed for failing to display the ticket, irrespective of whether a valid voucher was purchased. Mr McMichael appealed the notice but received a letter saying the charge would stand. He then contacted The Courier, explaining his predicament by which time Mr Brown had returned from his honeymoon and agreed to look at the evidence and review the decision taken by a colleague in his absence. On Friday a delighted Mr McMichael said he had just received a letter from Mr Brown withdrawing the request for payment of the £20 charge imposed for a breach of the parking rules. He quoted Mr Brown as stating, "This incident has been brought to my attention and I have looked into the matter. Please forgive me for not contacting you earlier as I was away on annual leave. "After reflecting over the incident, I can appreciate your circumstances. As a gesture of goodwill and support I have cancelled the notice." The car park boss said he hoped that Mr McMichael would now be able to concentrate on "the more important matter" of his wife's health. "At the end of the day I don't have to pay and I don't have to go to a solicitor and fight this," said Mr McMichael. "It's all thanks to The Courier."

A man who was arrested on suspicion of murder after the body of a woman was found on the M20 has been released on bail.The body was discovered by police on the London-bound carriageway near Ashford at 6.05pm on Tuesday. The road was closed between junctions 9 and 10 for nearly 24 hours while the scene was investigated.Officers appealed for the driver of a silver Nissan Qashqai to come forward and a man handed himself in at a police station on Wednesday evening, Kent Police said.On Friday morning the force said the man had been released on bail until March 15.The circumstances surrounding the death of the 32-year-old from Kent remain a mystery and detectives are continuing to investigate.A post-mortem is expected to take place at midday on Friday.Police are still appealing for drivers who were on the road at the time to check their vehicles for signs of a collision, and for anyone with dash cam footage or who saw a Nissan Qashqai with the registration KY15 WWX at the time of the incident to come forward.

Police have identified the body found on the M20 as a 32-year-old woman from Kent.A man arrested on suspicion of murder remains in custody, Kent Police said on Thursday afternoon.Officers discovered the body on the London-bound carriageway near Ashford at 6.05pm on Tuesday. The road was closed between junctions 9 and 10 for nearly 24 hours while the scene was investigated.Officers initially appealed for the driver of a silver Nissan Qashqai to come forward and a man handed himself in at a police station on Wednesday evening.The incident caused hours of delays with between six and seven miles of queues stretching back to junction 11 and a diversion was in place.The road reopened shortly before 3pm on Wednesday.An accountant from Ashford told Press Association of his shock at the scene he saw while driving on to the coastbound stretch of motorway at about 6.20pm on Tuesday while emergency services were on the opposite side of the road.The 21-year-old, who asked not to be named, said: “As I entered the motorway I expected to see a crash, when I suddenly realised that it wasn’t and unfortunately it appeared to be a body lying in the central lane with police and ambulance staff around it.“Because of the torches being shone by police (I could see) it appeared that the body had been struck by vehicles.“It was very shocking. It is not a sight I would want anyone to witness.“My condolences are with the family of the deceased.”Police are still appealing for drivers who were on the road at the time to check their vehicles for signs of a collision, and for anyone with dash cam footage or who saw the Nissan Qashqai with the registration KY15 WWX at the time of the incident to come forward.

The Ninewells Cancer Campaign has reached another major funding milestone - bringing the total raised over the past 25 years to £22 million. The campaign has successfully concluded its appeal to raise £2 million in order to kit out the Jacqui Wood Centre at Ninewells Hospital. Named in memory of Dr Jacqui Wood, who chaired the campaign from its formation in 1991 to her death in 2011, the centre aims to turn groundbreaking cancer research into effective treatments for patients. The Ninewells Cancer Campaign was launched as a a one-off campaign to raise funds for a CAT scanner but has now raised more than £22 million to help in the fight against cancer. Professor Russell Petty said: “It is a testament to the high regard of the campaign that so many people have helped us reach our most recent target. “Having a leading clinical cancer research programme allows us to make the very latest breakthrough cancer medicines available to patients. "We also aim to work ever more closely with our world-leading scientists in the University of Dundee to translate their scientific advances into new more effective cancer treatments. "Together this ensures that the cancer treatment we provide in Dundee remains at the cutting edge.” Lady Fiona Fraser, chair of the campaign, said: “This is a wonderful achievement. "This campaign continues to grow after 20 years and we have well exceeded expectation. "Once again we are humbled by the marvellous support shown by so many around Tayside and beyond.” Since 1991, the campaign has supported the development of the latest research laboratories and recruitment of key scientists to drive forward cancer research programmes in the University and NHS Tayside. Funds have been used to support many ambitious projects including establishment of the £5.3 million Princess Alexandra Cancer Treatment Centre , the Department of Surgery and Molecular Oncology (£4 million), the Pat McPherson Centre for Pharmacogenomics and Pharmacogenetics (£1.5 million), as well as to create and equip the Jacqui Wood Cancer Centre on Dundee University's medical school at Ninewells Hospital. The latest fundraising milestone was marked by a public lecture from Professor Russell Petty, chair of medical oncology, on developing new medicines for hard to treat cancers.

Dundee-headquartered training provider 20/20 Business Insight has won a prestigious contract with one of the world’s leading oil and gas companies. The Broughty Ferry-based company, which also has offices in Aberdeen, London and the USA, has been awarded preferred supplier status under a master contract by BP for providing project management training globally. Ironically, the prestigious account has been won after 20/20 stepped away from its previous focus almost entirely on the oil and gas sector – adding BP to a diverse client portfolio that now includes Wood Group, Centrica, Balfour Beatty, British Aerospace, Hinckley Point, Network Rail, Diageo and Wm Grant. Chief executive officer Tony Marks, who said the new status came off the back of recent big contract wins within the nuclear power industry, added: “20|20 are delighted to have been awarded preferred supplier status under a master contract by BP for providing project management training globally. “It’s a great team performance in demonstrating our international capability and upstream oil industry experience to win this prestigious account.” 20|20 Business Insight, which employs 26 staff and had revenues of £2.84 million last year, is a full service, project management, business and leadership training and consulting company who deliver training courses and consulting services throughout the world. It is the largest independent provider of project management training courses in the UK. The consulting team work with companies to analyse competence baselines and deliver maturity assessments, design bespoke and accredited training programmes, create handbooks and manuals, implement project management procedures and protocols and then measure and report effectiveness. Mr Marks said that crucially, they had the ability to deliver internationally-accredited training and consulting anywhere in the world, primarily in oil and gas, engineering and construction, utilities, nuclear, food and drink However, despite an international outlook, they remained proud to be rooted in Dundee. “We are big fans of Dundee and supporters of the Tay Cities Deal to bring jobs, including de-commissioning, to Dundee,” he added. “When we started in 2003, we were almost exclusively in the oil and gas sector before diversifying into other sectors. We were lucky because two years ago the oil and gas sector started to decline, and accounts for around 10% of the work we do now.” Mr Marks has been involved in business for 27 years and has seen four or five cycles based on the oil barrel price changing. During that period, the level of business has come back smaller each time. “So it’s quite interesting we are back in the oil and gas sector now,” he added. He said the BP deal had been going on behind the scenes for nine months and “should mean quite a jump in business for us.” He added: “It’s not a guarantee of any level of work. But the revenue should be significant and comes off the back of other big contract wins.”

Eoin Morgan fears the opportunity to salvage Test cricket’s primacy over short formats may already have been missed.At 31, England’s white-ball captain played the last of his 16 Tests more than six years ago, and has already publicly acknowledged more than once that his international future is exclusive to 50 and 20-over fixtures.He is nonetheless a notable voice in the debate about Test cricket’s status, and appears in little doubt that the threat from lucrative Twenty20 domestic franchise contracts is no longer a mere talking point but present and future reality.Two cases in point reside in his own England team following Alex Hales and Adil Rashid’s decisions in recent weeks to sign white-ball only contracts with their respective counties – and therefore effectively sacrifice any Test ambitions for the foreseeable future.“Test match cricket has had a lot to worry about for quite a while now,” said the Irishman.“If something was going to be done about it, it probably should have been done already.“There are still, I suppose, different ideas being thrown around – but actually giving priority to Test matches is sort of a luxury now for the bigger countries around the world.“For other countries, T20 franchise cricket takes priority.” Proposed measures to come to the aid of Test cricket have, of late, included the advent of day-night pink-ball fixtures and an inaugural four-day match.Morgan senses, however, that a correction of player finances from global administrators may yet be the most effective policy.“The best ideas probably being bandied around are putting most revenue behind the match appearances or actual prize money towards Test match cricket,” he said.“(Then) there’s no [influence] on what format people choose, simply because of the money they might make.“(Their decision) is all down to how good they are at that particular format.”As for the switches made of late by Hales and Rashid, Morgan is supportive.“I think it’s a really good decision for those individuals,” he added.“Every individual is different – they see their future and their pathway changing all the time, and it’s okay to be able to change it.“A lot of people actually are forced into a position to play one or two formats – which I think is wrong, because it’s their own career, it’s their own future.“They need to take hold of it and make the most of it while they can.”

A woman who was found dead on the M20 has been named as Dominique Worrall.The 32-year-old’s body was discovered by police on the London-bound carriageway near Ashford at 6.05pm on Tuesday.A man who was arrested on suspicion of murder after officers appealed for the driver of a silver Nissan Qashqai to come forward has been released on bail, Kent Police said.The circumstances surrounding Ms Worrall’s death remain a mystery and detectives are continuing to investigate.Police are still appealing for drivers who were on the road at the time to check their vehicles for signs of a collision, and for anyone with dash cam footage or who saw a Nissan Qashqai with the registration KY15 WWX at the time of the incident to come forward.

Motorists on a major link to the Channel Tunnel and Dover port have been experiencing miles of tailbacks after a body was found on the road and a later collision forced police to close the M20 in both directions.Officers were called to the London-bound carriageway between junctions 10 and nine, near Ashford, Kent, at 6.05pm on Tuesday after a body was found. The person was pronounced dead at the scene.Then at 8am on Wednesday, four cars and a lorry were involved in a collision on the coast-bound carriageway, forcing it to be closed to all traffic. It has since reopened.The driver of the lorry, a 42-year-old man, has been arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving and remains in police custody.A woman was airlifted to a London hospital with injuries and a man was taken to a local hospital following the crash. Witnesses at the scene said they had been at a standstill for about two-and-a-half-hours.By 10.30am on Wednesday, drivers were experiencing six miles of queues back to junction 11 on the London-bound carriageway and the road closure was affecting travel to the Eurotunnel and the Port of Dover.The Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, which investigates incidents including murder and organised crime, is working with road collision investigators to determine the cause of death in the first incident, which is currently being treated as unexplained.Detective Chief Inspector Richard Vickery said: “I would like to hear from motorists who have dashcam footage taken between 5.30pm and 6.30pm on Tuesday February 20 of the M20 London-bound carriageway between junctions 10 and nine.“I would also ask motorists who used the M20 after 6pm on Tuesday to contact us if they believe they experienced anything unusual whilst driving and check their cars for signs of a collision.“We do not underestimate the impact that closing this stretch of the motorway has on people and I thank them for their patience. It is crucial that we ensure that all evidence is collected. As soon as the motorway is reopened the opportunity to collate potentially crucial information is lost.“We are working tirelessly at the scene and I am hopeful a lane of the M20 will be re-opened later today.”A large green screen has been put up where the body was found and a line of police officers wearing white protective covers on their feet has been seen slowly walking the stretch of the carriageway towards the screen while examining the surface.

The finals of the men’s and women’s World Twenty20 in 2020 will be held at the MCG.Cricket Australia has announced the hosts venues for the tournaments, with Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Geelong, Hobart, Perth and Sydney joining Melbourne on the list.The women’s competition takes place first, running from February 21 to March 8, with the men’s event starting on October 18 and closing on November 15.It is the first time both editions will be take place in the same country in the same year but as distinct tournaments.International Cricket Council chief executive David Richardson said: “I’d like to thank Cricket Australia and their partners in Government at all levels for their commitment to the ICC World T20 in 2020. “The ambition they have shown firstly in delivering stand-alone men’s and women’s events and then in the venue selection – that will, I hope, set a record for the biggest ever attendance at a women’s sporting event – is exciting for the sport. “Australia has a proven track record of delivering world-class events in world-class stadiums and we know we can rely on the fans to provide great support for all of the competing teams.”

A driver has told of his shock when he saw a body lying in the middle of a busy motorway.Part of the London-bound M20 near Ashford in Kent is still closed between junctions nine and 10 after police made the discovery at 6.05pm on Tuesday. The person was pronounced dead at the scene.An accountant from Ashford said he was driving onto the coastbound stretch of motorway at about 6.20pm when he saw emergency services on the opposite side of the road.The 21-year-old, who asked not to be named, told the Press Association: “As I entered the motorway I expected to see a crash when I suddenly realised that it wasn’t and unfortunately it appeared to be a body lying in the central lane with police and ambulance staff around it.“Because of the torches being shone by police [I could see] it appeared that the body had been struck by vehicles.“It was very shocking. It is not a sight I would want anyone to witness.“My condolences are with the family of the deceased.”His comments come as Kent Police appealed for drivers to check their vehicles for any signs of a collision and look at dash cam footage.Officers are no longer appealing for the driver of a silver Nissan Qashqai with the registration KY15 WWX to come forward after a man attended a police station on Wednesday evening. The force said it is still appealing for information from anyone who saw the car driving along the road between 5.30pm and 6.30pm on Tuesday.Officers from the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, which investigates offences like murder and organised crime, are trying to determine the cause of death which is currently being treated as unexplained.A large green screen was put up where the body was found, and a line of police officers wearing white protective covers on their feet slowly walked the stretch of the carriageway towards the screen while examining the road on Wednesday morning.The incident caused hours of delays with between six and seven miles of queues stretching back to junction 11 and a diversion was in place. The road and the exit slip road reopened shortly after 4pm and delays have cleared, police and highways officials said.At 8am on Wednesday, four cars and a lorry were involved in a collision on the opposite stretch of the same section of motorway. It was closed to all traffic for several hours but has since re-opened.A 42-year-old man who was driving the lorry has been arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving and remains in police custody.A man and a woman were taken to hospital to be treated for their injuries.Detective Chief Inspector Richard Vickery said: “We do not underestimate the impact that closing this stretch of the motorway had on people and I would like to thank drivers who were delayed for their patience while we ensured that all evidence was collected before the motorway was reopened.”